SGF Denies Setting Up Panel to Constitute Boards of ParastatalsOlawale Ajimotokan in Abuja  

The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) has rebutted a publication (not by THISDAY) that the federal government had set up a panel to reconstitute boards of parastatals.

The rebuttal was made yesterday, in a statement by the Director, Information OSGF, Willie Bassey.

He said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, reiterated that there was no truth in the story nor has government set up any ad-hoc committee as alleged to review the resumes of individuals who would fill such board appointments as stated in the said publication.

“The visit of the two former Governors of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu and Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, to his office on Friday had nothing to do with such adhoc committee. It has everything to do with their recent appointment as ministers.

“Also, the reporter inaccurately quoted the spokesperson of the OSGF as indicating that 14 agencies were stipulated to have been exempted. Whereas, the release in question at the time only received the President’s approval for two agencies- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC).

“In order to avoid inaccurate reporting, SGF admonishes media personnel to always cross-check information directly from authorized persons in his office rather than depending on some social media reports which may be inaccurate,” the statement said.

It would be recalled that two months ago, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had approved the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies in the interest of the public and exercise of government’s constitutional powers.

Although the SGF was given the latitude to dissolve and reconstitute the managements and boards of the agencies and parastatals, the dissolution did not affect Boards, Commissions and Councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Pending such time new boards are constituted, the Chief Executive Officers of the parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies are to refer matters requiring the attention of their boards to the President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their respective supervisory ministries and offices.